An Internet-based survey of academic psychiatry and managed-care readiness

The authors surveyed the managed-care readiness of academic psychiatry to d erive a baseline for comparison of future surveys. A 25-item Internet-based survey was used to assess the organizational structure arm programs, quali ty- and performance-improvement initiatives, and information-systems capaci ty of academic psychiatry. A website (bestpractice.com) runs created for po tential respondents. Thirty-five departments participated; a majority indic ated involvement in caring for managed-care patients, and some were managin g care. The authors concluded that academic psychiatry is de developing the infrastructure to assume risk in order to manage care in a contemporary en vironment.